Im honestly so fed up with my Sony 16-50mm kit lens. The photos are just so blurry and the distortion at the wide end is driving me crazy, especially when I try to shoot at night. I have a trip to Utah in three weeks and I desperately need something better for landscape and star photos. My budget is super tight, like $350 max.
Here is what Im looking for:
- Must be wide (like 12mm or 16mm)
- Good in low light (f2.8 or faster)
- Under $350
- Sharp details
What should I get? Im kinda panicking because the trip is coming up so fast...
Ive shot a lot of night landscapes with Sony APS-C and you have two solid options under your budget.
- Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS: Manual focus only, but its incredibly wide and sharp for stars.
- Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary: Autofocus is fast and the f/1.4 aperture lets in tons of light, though its heavier. Both will easily beat the kit lens for your Utah trip.
I totally get the panic, kit lenses are so frustrating for stars. Honestly, I bought the Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS hoping it would do the trick for my last trip, but unfortunately the f4 aperture was not as good as expected for night shots. It just let in way too little light and I got so much noise. Since you need something fast and cheap, here are two others to look at:
- TTArtisan 10mm f/2.0 ASPH
- This one is super cheap, usually under $160. It is fully manual, but the f2 aperture is great for astrophotography.
- Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D
- You might have to hunt for a used one to stay under $350, but the distortion control is seriously impressive. Just make sure you practice manual focusing on stars before you head out to Utah, it can be kinda tricky in the dark!
Totally agree on the Samyang, but if you search used gear sites, the Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 E sometimes goes for under $350 and gives you autofocus plus that extra light gathering.
